Compared to the name Okinawa, I think most people are more familiar with its ancient name "Ryukyu". This place had been a vassal state of the mainland during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and envoys were often sent to the then Central Dynasty as Chennagong. It was not until the end of the 19th century that it was invaded by the Satsuma Domain, which belonged to Kagoshima, Japan, and was not formally annexed until 1879, after the Meiji Restoration, where Okinawa Prefecture was established.
Okinawa is located on the continental shelf of the Pacific Ocean, with shipping facilities to and from Neighboring Countries in Japan, so it is the most important trade hub in the region, with high strategic value, and it is the throat of sea and air traffic in the Asia-Pacific region, which is known as the "WanguoJinliang", which is enough to see the importance of Okinawa in the Pacific region.
However, it is such a place of great strategic significance to Japan, but it is firmly in the hands of the US military stationed in Japan. Looking at the international news in recent years, it is not difficult for us to find that all kinds of atrocities committed by the US troops stationed in Japan on okinawa are not uncommon, and since Japan handed okinawa island to the United States after its defeat in the war, the people on Okinawa have never stopped resisting and resisting the US troops stationed in Japan.
On the island of Okinawa, people can often be seen gathering in the streets to march, chanting "American troops in Japan get out of Okinawa!" "Okinawa wants independence, the U.S. army get out!" The signs with the words shouted with all their might, expressing their anger and dissatisfaction with the misconduct of the US troops stationed in Japan.
Ryukyu Parade
However, in response to the dissatisfaction, demonstrations and protests of okinawan residents, the US troops stationed on the island have always ignored this, still go their own way, and have not relented their behavior for fear of causing public indignation, so how has the Japanese government responded to the protests of the people in its own country?
From the independent Ryukyu Kingdom to the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa
Okinawa Prefecture, which was planned by the Japanese government in its own territory, is about 2,250 square kilometers across the Japanese island of Kyushu and Taiwan Province of China, with the Ryukyu Islands as the center, and is composed of the Miyako Islands, the Yaeyama Islands, and many islands of different sizes. The islands are arranged in an arc along China's continental line in order.
This area has a pleasant climate and a unique natural environment, which is very suitable for human habitation. However, to really talk about the history of the Ryukyu Islands, the relationship between them and China is obviously older and closer than that of Japan.
Looking through the history books that record Chinese history, it is not difficult to find that in fact, there are records about this place in Ryukyu for a long time, but because people have different names for this place in ancient times, you may not find that in fact, as early as the "History of Sui", there was a record of the Ryukyu region:
"Flow to the country, when jian'an county east, the water line five days to come ... Its king Huansi clan... No courtesy of a monarch... The terroir climate is similar to that of Lingnan. ”
Later, it was recorded that in the third year of the Sui Dynasty Emperor's great cause, the Sui Emperor sent the lieutenant Zhu Kuan to "go into the sea to visit the foreign customs" and arrived in Liuqiuguo. This is the first time that the Ryukyu region has been recorded in the history books of the feudal dynasties of the mainland. By the early 14th century, the aborigines of the Ryukyu Islands began to establish their own feudal regime modeled on the Central Plains Dynasty.
Sui Dynasty Emperor
According to records, three different regimes appeared on the island at that time, named "Zhongshan", "Shannan", and "North Mountain". The three regimes attacked each other, each wanting to annex the other and unify the entire Ryukyu region. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty in 1368, all three regimes competed to pay tribute to the powerful Ming Dynasty in order to obtain help from the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, as early as the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, China and Ryukyu established a tributary system relationship.
By the beginning of the 15th century, a brilliant Bazhi king appeared in the Ryukyu Islands, who finally destroyed other hostile regimes, unified the entire Ryukyu Islands, and asked the Ming Emperor to reward him with a title to maintain the legitimacy of his rule. Later, King Bazhi was given the surname Shang by the Ming Dynasty, and under his leadership, the Ryukyu region began to learn culture from China, traded with China with Japan, absorbed Confucianism and Buddhism, and built Shuri Yuanjue Temple, modeled on the Yuanjue Temple in Nara, Japan.
Yuanjue Temple
At the end of the 15th century, the power of the Ryukyu Kingdom reached its peak, and it was also at this time that the History Books of the Ming Dynasty officially named the archipelago area "Ryukyu", a name that has been used ever since, and even today, people prefer to call this place "Ryukyu" than "Okinawa".
Because it is under the protection of the wings of such a huge creature as the Ming Dynasty, although the Ryukyu Kingdom is not large in size and has a small population, it has a very moist life, hindering the prestige of the Ming Dynasty, and neighboring countries do not dare to invade at all, so Ryukyu has gained more than 200 years of golden development time, and the residents of the island live very happily.
This tranquility and happiness lasted until 1609, when the Ming Empire was already crumbling, with the peasant revolt of Li Zicheng, the king of the invasion, the iron hooves of the Houjin army, and the internal and external difficulties, not to mention the vassal states that had once paid tribute to themselves.
So when the Ryukyu Kingdom lost the protection of the Ming Dynasty, the Satsuma Domain, which belonged to Japan, set its sights on this island country with a strategic location and a pleasant natural environment. In 1609, the Japanese Satsuma army declared war against the Ryukyu Kingdom, after nearly 300 years of peace, the Ryukyu army had no strength to resist the wolf-like Japanese invading army, and soon the whole territory was occupied by the Japanese Satsuma army, and the Ming Dynasty, which relied on for help, could not take care of Ryukyu at this time, and the entire Ryukyu kingdom was controlled by the Satsuma domain.
However, at that time, the Satsuma clan of Japan did not want to turn the entire Ryukyu Island into their own territory, and they knew that once China ended its state of division and established a unified central dynasty, it would definitely retaliate for its own occupation of the tributary state, so in order to maximize the benefits it had gained, the Satsuma army still maintained the independence of the Ryukyu island and let it continue to trade with China as a tribute.
A vassal of satsuma domain
However, the Satsuma clan of Japan forced him to make a vow that "Ryukyu has been subordinate to the Satsuma clan since ancient times" after capturing the then king of Ryukyu, forcing the Ryukyu kingdom to pay tribute to Japan and forcibly making Japan the suzerainty of Ryukyu, which also laid the groundwork for Japan to completely invade Ryukyu and incorporate it into its own territory.
At the end of the 19th century, the cannons of the great powers opened the doors of Japan. This made the Japanese realize that the original system and culture could no longer adapt to the development of the times, and under the leadership of Emperor Meiji at that time, Japan launched a top-down reform and reform movement to learn from the advanced systems and culture and technology of the West. With the concerted efforts of Japan's monarchs, Japan's national strength soon caught up and became one of the world's great powers at that time.
Emperor Meiji
After becoming stronger, Japan's ambitions have also been greatly inflated with the increase of strength. The So-called "Mainland Plan," or "Five Steps," has always been circulating in the Japanese government: annexing Taiwan, Korea, Manchuria, and then using this as a springboard to annex China to Asia and even the whole world. Although this plan now seems like a fool's dream, it also completely exposes Japan's ambitions for foreign expansion.
In 1879, Japan tore off its disguise of kindness and sent troops to forcibly invade the Ryukyu Kingdom. It has to be said that after the Meiji Restoration, the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army was greatly improved, and the Ryukyu Kingdom was captured in less than two days. King Shang of Ryukyu became a prisoner of Japan, was escorted to Tokyo, Japan, was tried by the Japanese Emperor, and completely incorporated Ryukyu into his territory, changing its name to "Okinawa". This incident is known in Japanese history books as the "Ryukyu Punishment".
The modern Ryukyu Kingdom was wore a Han family crown before it was annexed by Japan
Japan's behavior quickly aroused the dissatisfaction of the Qing government in China at that time. Although at that time, with the invasion of the late Qing government by the great powers and the signing of a series of unequal treaties with the powers, the image of China's "heavenly kingdom of heaven" no longer existed, and the tributary system was gradually disintegrating, in the habitual thinking of the Manchu rulers, Japan was still the small "barbarian state", and its forcible occupation of Ryukyu was tantamount to provoking itself.
The Qing government immediately protested against Japan's occupation of Ryukyu and sent envoys to negotiate on this issue. At the same time, many patriots in the Ryukyu region also rushed to negotiate between China and Japan, hoping that their country would avoid the fate of national annihilation. However, due to the decay and weakness of the Qing government at that time, such verbal protests and negotiations basically did not work, and in the end Ryukyu was inevitably annexed.
After the annexation of Ryukyu, Japan incorporated it into its own Kyushu territory. During the annexation of Ryukyu, the Japanese government promised the people of Ryukyu Island that after its incorporation into Japan, the government would treat Ryukyu and the Japanese mainland equally, and the Ryukyu people were also "part of the Yamato nation". As everyone knows, the face of the aggressor changes at any time.
Japan has never treated Ryukyu and the Ryukyu people as it promised. To most Japanese people, the inhabitants of Ryukyu Island are uncivilized barbarians, and if the people of the Japanese mainland learn that you are from Ryukyu Island, they will immediately turn away from you and stare at you with a disdainful eye, as if they are afraid of getting too close to you and getting contaminated with the smell of "rural natives".
Not only the Japanese people, but also the official documents of the Japanese government, the discrimination against Ryukyu is also naked. After the annexation of Ryukyu, the Japanese government issued a document stating that it would include the native inhabitants of the Ryukyu Islands in the category of "imperialization", that is, in official documents, the residents of Ryukyu were included in the uncivilized category.
In Ryukyu, which was invaded by Japan, the costumes of the islanders began to be Japaneseized, and kimonos became popular.
In 1939, in order to consolidate its colonial rule in Ryukyu and erase the original culture and history of the region from its roots, the Japanese government launched an operation called the "Dialect Extinguishing Campaign". As the name suggests, the aborigines of the Ryukyu Island are strictly forbidden to use their original language in their daily lives, and they must speak Japanese, which eventually intensifies, and even the traditional customs, music, opera and other culture and art in the area have been forcibly snuffed out by the Japanese.
In this way, the history and culture of the Ryukyu region for many years were erased, which also announced that the country had been wiped out from the roots.
During World War II, Okinawa became the main battlefield for the war between Japan and the United States. At that time, there was a considerable gap between Japan and the United States in terms of military and armament. In order to bridge the gap between the two countries, the Japanese government decided to start with the number of troops. So the people of Okinawa became the target of conscription, and the Japanese were mad to what extent.
Battle of Okinawa
Generally speaking, normal military service is performed by adult men who have reached the age of majority, but in the Okinawa area, the Japanese do not regard the Okinawan people as people at all, some people are forcibly recruited into the Japanese government before they reach the age of service, and even some elderly people are forcibly enlisted, and even female students are organized into so-called "non-military people" and sent to the battlefield to die.
The "Hime Lily Unit" and the "White Plum Unit" are composed of these female students who are not familiar with the world and are at the same age as flowers, and when they arrive on the battlefield, they are forever fixed at this flower-like age. According to post-war statistics, there were 321 people in the "Himeyuri Troops", 219 people died on the battlefield, and the mortality rate reached a high of 70 percent, which shows how mad the Japanese are!
Member of the Hime Yuri Student Team
The brutality of the Japanese is not only reflected in the forced conscription of people into the army. In 1945, the situation on the battlefield was already extremely unfavorable for Japan, and whether the Japanese government recognized it or not, they were already on the verge of defeat. At this time, the people of Okinawa saw that Japan was about to lose, cheered and rejoiced, thinking that they had finally ushered in liberation, but they did not expect that the Japanese army had carried out a brutal massacre against the unarmed Okinawan people.
At the behest of the Japanese cabinet, the dehumanized Japanese army rushed into the homes of the Okinawan people, carried out massacres, raped women, burned and killed all kinds of evil, killed the red-eyed Japanese troops, even swaddled babies, provoked them with bayonets, and fell to the ground.
Ryukyuan people
In just three months, under the massacre of the Japanese army, okinawa was full of corpses and bones, and there were originally about 400,000 families living on okinawa, but by the time of the post-war counts, there were less than 200,000 old, weak, sick and disabled. In other words, in just three months, the Japanese army slaughtered nearly 200,000 unarmed civilians!
Only to escape from the tiger's mouth and fall into the claws of the wolf
On August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito of Japan issued an edict on the radio announcing unconditional surrender. When the news reached Okinawa, the people wept with joy, and they finally waited for the moment of Japan's defeat. They rejoiced, believing that their destiny would be born again. But they never imagined that after experiencing Japan's inhumane colonial rule, they would fall into the clutches of the United States.
Emperor Hirohito
After the United States took over Japan, it discovered the important strategic location and pleasant natural environment of Okinawa, and found a way to hold it in its own hands. In 1947, under the control of the United States, okinawa was entrusted to the United States by the United Nations. In 1951, according to the San Francisco Peace Treaty with Japan and the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, the United States established its own military government in Ryukyu to unify the management of Ryukyu's affairs. Nominally a trusteeship, in fact there is no difference between it and colonial rule. And according to the security treaty, about seventy percent of the U.S. troops stationed in Japan are stationed on okinawa.
There is a clause in the "Japan-U.S. Security Treaty" that the Ryukyu and Japanese judicial organs have no right to manage the trial of the criminal acts of U.S. troops stationed in Japan. Good fellow, isn't this equivalent to the consular jurisdiction of the late Qing powers when they forced the Qing government to sign unequal treaties, this is not what colonial rule is?
U.S. troops based in Okinawa
It was with this treaty that the U.S. troops stationed in Japan were lawless on the island of Okinawa and simply became the emperor of the earth. Vicious incidents of intentional homicide and rape of women are not uncommon, and there have even been many scandals in which THE US military stationed in Japan gang-raped underage girls. Even though these incidents provoked strong resistance from the residents of Ryukyu, protests and demonstrations were carried out, but the Ryukyu U.S. military stationed in Japan was indifferent to this, and these murderers were eventually punished with some painless punishment.
In the matter of colonial rule, the United States is obviously more brutal and clever than Japan. First, by issuing special visas to restrict the freedom of entry and exit of Ryukyu Island residents, and then starting from the economy, forcing residents of the Ryukyu region to use using US dollars, this is not a naked capital export and capital invasion.
U.S. military base
What most dissatisfied the Ryukyu masses was the using of the US military's forcible requisition of the people's cultivated land and living land to build a military base, which greatly troubled the daily life of the Ryukyu people. Countless people's homes have been razed to the ground by the US military with violent means, leaving them homeless.
With the collusion of the United States and Japan, Okinawa has a long way to go for independence
Finally, the contradiction between the Okinawan people and the US troops stationed in Japan reached a critical point. The people of Okinawa took to the streets one after another, marched in protest, demanding severe punishment for the US troops stationed in Japan who committed crimes in Okinawa, and played "US troops in Japan get out of Okinawa" and "Okinawa wants independence, US troops get out!" " slogan. So what is the attitude of the Japanese government towards the resistance of the people of Okinawa?
In fact, the people of Okinawa have a long history of rebellion against U.S. colonial rule. As early as 1952, the people of Ie Island began to protest in their own way against American colonial rule. In 1955, an island-wide movement broke out, with many coalition groups formed to oppose the brutal rule of the United States.
In 1971, patriotic independents on the island of Ryukyu formed the Ryukyu Independence Party, aiming to break away from American colonial rule and establish an independent country belonging to the Ryukyu people. For more than forty years, the party has been committed to the development of the Ryukyu independence movement, and has even formulated the flag, national system and national flag after Ryukyu independence. And thanks to their efforts, the United Nations also took note of the situation in Ryukyu and said that it should make Ryukyu an independent country.
However, the Japanese government did not agree with or even oppressed the independence aspirations of the Ryukyu people. In 2016, the Japanese government publicly stated that it did not recognize the Okinawans as an independent people, did not recognize the history and culture of Ryukyu, and suppressed the independence and sovereignty movement on the Ryukyu Islands politically and economically.
The Japanese government has a "revitalization fund" specifically for Okinawa, in order to brainwash Okinawa officials and make them close to the United States, high-level officials use economic means to limit the construction funds of those who oppose the construction of US military officials in Japan, and vigorously support officials who are close to the United States, so as to change people's attitude towards the United States, and also to divide the various political forces on Okinawa and prevent them from uniting together.
Politically, the Japanese government also uses the same means and methods to support officials who are willing to be close to the United States in the selection of Okinawan officials, and to exclude those officials who sympathize with and support the okinawan people.
In addition, the Japanese government also colluded with the US military stationed in Japan to try to appease the emotions of the residents of the Ryukyu Island through hypocritical means and divide the residents of the island. In order to appease the emotions of the people on the island, the United States also pretended to punish several American soldiers who committed crimes, and joined hands with the Japanese government to organize the young generation on okinawa to visit the United States and instill pro-American ideas in them. The US military stationed in Japan also pretended to understand the okinawan people, and pretended to say that in the future, it would definitely restrain the behavior of the US military and no longer disturb the people.
These moves may look good, but they are nothing more than a political show by the United States to maintain colonial rule over Okinawa. If Ryukyu is to truly become independent, it seems that there is still a long way to go!